Gov. DeSantis says Tate brothers are not welcome in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that Andrew and Tristan Tate, the influencer brothers who face charges in Romania of human trafficking and sexual intercourse with a minor, were not welcome in the state.
At a news conference, DeSantis said the state had nothing to do with the Tates, but that it had little power to prevent them from visiting.
The brothers left Romania on a private flight and landed Thursday at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport after a travel ban was lifted. Andrew and Tristan Tate are dual citizens of the United States and the U.K.
"We have no involvement in that," DeSantis said. "I read about it through the media."
He added that Florida's attorney general, James Uthmeier, was looking at the state's options but was confident that it's up to the federal government to stop them from entering the U.S.
"Florida is not a place where you're welcome with that type of conduct," the governor said.
In a statement shared to X, Uthmeier said he had directed his office "to work with our state law enforcement partners to conduct a preliminary inquiry into these individuals."
"Florida has zero tolerance for human trafficking and violence against women," Uthmeier wrote. "If any of these alleged crimes trigger Florida jurisdiction, we will hold them accountable."
After landing in Florida, Andrew Tate gave brief remarks to the media.
"We live in a democratic society where it's innocent until proven guilty, and I think my brother and I are largely misunderstood. There's a lot of opinions about us that go around on the internet. We've yet to be convicted of any crime in our lives ever. We have no criminal record anywhere on the planet," he said.
He added that he and his brother were allowed to leave Romania because there is "no active indictment" preventing them from returning to the U.S
A spokesperson for the brothers, Mateea Petrescu, said the two landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, around midday, The Associated Press reported.
Joseph McBride, an attorney for the Tate brothers, quickly pushed back on DeSantis' remarks in a post shared to X.
"Andrew & Tristan Tate are American Citizens. They are also the Plaintiffs and victims in a very public defamation lawsuit litigated in Palm Beach Court," he wrote. "Trump-hating @RonDeSantis has disgraced himself by stating that @Cobratate & @TateTheTalisman are not welcome in Florida!"
McBride said in a separate statement that the Tate brothers had filed the defamation suit against those who had accused them of human trafficking. He said once prosecutors allowed the pair to leave the country, they did so legally.
"Andrew and Tristan plan to return to Romania at the end of March to meet with the prosecutor before returning to the United States," the statement reads. "They feel secure in America for several reasons, the primary one being that Donald Trump is the President. As a result, they are excited to call America their home again."
He added that those "who continue to slander, defame, and conspire to bring false charges against Andrew and Tristan" will be "brought to justice."
When asked about the Tate brothers arrival in the U.S., President Donald Trump said " I just know nothing about it. We'll check it out." U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is visiting the White House, said that human trafficking is a security risk and he, too, would look into the issue.
Ahead of the brothers' arrival, a senior Trump administration official was unable to comment on the brothers' entering the United States.
"I have no insight right now on anything related to the Tate brothers," the official said, adding that the White House would monitor the situation.
A British attorney for the alleged victims of the Tate brothers said that his U.K.-based clients were "dismayed" upon learning the pair were on their way to the U.S.
"They now feel that they've been completely abandoned and the Tates will never see a criminal prosecution," attorney Matthew Jury told Reuters.
The brothers left Romania while under criminal investigation over accusations of having formed an organized criminal group, in addition to human trafficking, the trafficking of minors, sex with a minor and money laundering. They have denied any wrongdoing.
Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, or DIICOT, said in a statement Thursday that prosecutors had approved a 'request to modify the obligation preventing the defendants from leaving Romania,' but it said judicial control measures remained in place, the AP reported. The agency did not expand on who had made the request.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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